Hello latte194. When you say, "as easy Scott's," I'd like to remind you that no matter how you fertilize and take care of pests, most of the work goes into watering and mowing (and dethatching and core aerating). Fertilizing almost always needs to be done, but that's not most of the work. So here's a plan FOR YOU IN CHICAGO, not for folks in the PNW or in Phoenix or, really, elsewhere. Water - deeply and infrequently. Mow - mulch mow at your mower's highest setting every week. Fertilize - first in late May, second in early September, and last in late November. Weed control - Preemergent in early January and late March. Preemergent again in September. Weed control - Spot spray actively growing weeds in mid April and mid September using something like Weed-b-Gon or Weed-b-Gon Chickweed, Clover, and Oxalis Killer. That would be the plan for either chemical or organic fertilizer. There are no good organic weed killers that do not harm normal turfgrasses. No, corn gluten meal does not work. I like to use alfalfa pellets (rabbit chow) on the lawn. I apply at a rate of 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet (also 2 pounds per 100 square feet). I apply by filling a 2-pound coffee can with the pellets and then eyeballing a 10-ft by 10-ft area on the lawn. I scatter the contents of the can over that 100-square-ft area by hand, refill the can, and move to the next 10x10-ft area. I get the alfalfa pellets at a feed store in a brown, 50-pound, bag. It's generic. After you apply these you must moisten them so they swell up and expand. The next day you can drag a hose across the area and the flakes of alfalfa will fall down into the canopy of the turf and begin to decompose. Insect control - you should not need insect control on an organic fertilizer program. The reason organic fertilizers work is the microbes in the soil feed on the organic fertilizer and create plant food. This is the start of a food cycle so complicated that it's referred to as the soil food web. Everything which is beneficial seems to benefit from the regular feeding of organic fertilizer. The ecosystem full of beneficial microbes seems to out compete the disease causing pathogens except in rare cases. Thus the need for insect control is very rare. So the need for the insect control portion of Scott's 4-step program is eliminated. Weed control as I have described may seem more complicated than the Scott's program. One big benefit of spot spraying versus broadcasting the Scott's product(s) is that you don't waste product on areas where there are no weeds. The preemergents must be applied over the large area, because you don't know where the weed seeds are, but the spot spraying of the living weeds makes my methods more efficient. I feel like I'm leaving a lot out, but lawn care is not that hard once you have the basics of watering, mowing, and fertilizing. Nearly all the other stuff has an organic solution. If you are watering and fertilizing correctly you should not have a thatch problem. If you think you have hard soil, you can spray it with shampoo (3 ounces per 1,000 square feet) to soften it.

Natalie, you've come a long way from your initial plan, making some great changes that will make your kitchen work well, but there are still some issues you need to resolve in order to have a well-functioning kitchen that you'll love for years to come. I'm going to be blunt. If you don't have room to add a 3-4" deep buffer, taller than the counter, behind your range - if space is that tight - then your plan needs to be adjusted to avoid serious safety concerns that *everyone* here has mentioned. 42" between table and back of range *is not enough*. I'm glad you haven't had any problems with this type of set-up so far but your kids are young. They will grow and get bigger and take up more space than they do now. My youngest is now 6 feet tall. He used to run circles around my island *beneath* the counter overhang. NKBA (National Kitchen and Bath Association) guidelines state that "Countertop should extend a minimum of 9" BEHIND the cooking surface, at the same counter height as the appliance, in any instance where there is not an abutting wall/backsplash." (emphasis mine.) You are planning to have 0" of counter behind your range, which is more highly powered than your existing cooktop. Adding a 12" deep cabinet is only one option. Here are photos showing another option that takes up about 3-4". [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/colonial-farmhouse-remodel-farmhouse-kitchen-boston-phvw-vp~34650) [traditional kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by boston architect DSA Architects Eliminate the rounded curve for seating, just have the counter go straight across the top. You can see how this gives you a buffer around your range without intruding into the room that much. When someone bumps up against the range side of the island, instead of getting close to burners or pot handles, they bump this small bit of cabinetry with its counter cap instead. Bruises are way better than burns. Here are two photos showing what it would look like from the range side. [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/hill-section-home-rustic-kitchen-burlington-phvw-vp~34443) [contemporary kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by other metros architect Birdseye Design There's an outlet, barely noticeable, tucked along the backsplash to the left of the bowl of fruit. [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/transitional-kitchen-transitional-kitchen-denver-phvw-vp~96636) [eclectic kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/eclectic-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2104) by seattle general contractor Neil Kelly Company - Design & Remodeling You can see the outlets more easily in this photo. It also shows an angled island with cooktop and prep sink, somewhat similar to what you're planning. I don't think the sink as you show it is going to be very functional from the range side of the island. There's no sink frontage facing that way. You'll end up wedging yourself into the corner of the L - made even tighter because your range sticks out beyond the edge of the counter (see my next paragraph). You'll also need to lean over to use that sink. If you really want a sink next to the range and not closest to the fridge (most work flows fridge to sink to prep to range), then angle the inner corner so that you have easier access to the sink. Your aisles will actually be less than you show in all cases because you're not adding in the counter overhang (1" to 1-1/2"), the actual depth of the CD fridge (add 4" at least, not counting handles) or of your slide-in DCS 36" range, which is 27-1/2" deep according to DCS, other sites list it as 28-1/8" deep or 29-1/4" deep. Difference could be because one includes handles, knobs, the other doesn't. Either way, it's definitely not 24" deep as you show. You're also still skimping on counter overhang on the peninsula. I understand that you're trying to keep as much open space as possible but shrinking overhang from 15" to 12" will actually backfire. Chairs will need to be scooted farther away because there isn't enough leg room under the counter. You need to show accurate clearances to settle on a plan that will work IRL as well as it does on paper. If you don't, you won't discover the pinch points until it's built. Here's a suggestion to address the island concerns I mention above: I shifted the range section of the island forward 3-4" to allow for a backsplash behind that area, as per photos above. I angled the inner corner and added a 14-15" wide rectangular sink. You still have 36" of prep space to its left. Most work flows from fridge to sink to prep to range but having your sink placed in the inner corner allows you to use the faucet (get one with a pull-out sprayer) as a pot filler, which would be really handy. The downside is that I think this will still be a pinch point because the range sits deeper than the counter. You're seriously crowding your counter space around your main sink. You have 14" to the left and less than that to the right because of the upper cabinets that sit on the counter. You don't accurately depict the depth of the upper cabinets either. They will sit 12" deep, not including the doors, not the 9" you show in your drawing. I'm not sure why you've opted to move one of the peninsula seats to the mudroom sink wall. You've plenty of room for 3 to sit side by side on your 6' long peninsula (recs are for 24" for each person). As you've placed them, you'll actually have more collisions when either of the people seated at the inner corner move their chairs away from the counter. It will be even worse if both get up at the same time. btw, my math the other day was off when I was talking about your pantry/W/D closet. I saw 6' and thought 60". D'oh. So you could end up with a 15" pull out pantry cabinet to the left of your W/D (I'm allowing for 3" wiggle room for moving W/D in and out without scraping the heck out of the pantry cabinet). Will that, along with your countertop pull out cabinets give you enough pantry storage for your family of 6? That seems on the skimpy side to me but maybe you shop regularly instead of buying in bulk. Lastly, I wasn't suggesting such large slide-in doors for the whole closet, only for the W/D cabinets. They would be much shorter and lighter, and should hold up without a problem. Natalie, you actually have quite a generous space to work with but the constraints you insist upon reduce options for planning ample workspace for your new kitchen. Your largest sections of counter are not next to the main sink or the range. This is your kitchen and you admitted you and your husband are stubborn so it's likely you'll do as you wish, despite our best attempts to help. I just think that would be a shame because kitchen remodels take time and money and they are not fun to live through. I'd like to see you get a huge return for your efforts when all's said and done.

Wow I am having a hard time with some of these answers. The feedback is wonderful, but the harsh rants about my putting form over function and the garbage comment feel very uncalled for. LWO, you apparently did not even read my posts correctly and missed the fact that I am moving my kitchen OUT of my entry. If you are going to criticize, which is, after all, what I asked for, please realize that you know nothing about me and ask before you rip apart motivations you do not understand. I have no romantic notions about ranges in islands. I have lived in houses with wall ranges and island ranges, with young children, and know that for MY lifestyle, an island range would be ideal. This is based on PRACTICAL considerations and experience, not TV or magazine imagery. Yes, I will have a 30" x 42" hood with a 1200 cfm blower. Regardless of percentages of prep vs. cooking, this is what works for me and is a key element of my design. I have no issues explaining why this is, as you all have valid points as to the drawbacks. LWO, you may have good considerations, but the way you worded them was very hostile and uncalled for. We have different opinions and habits and I expect mine to be treated respectfully too. Buehl, thank you so much for your thoughtful post. I would love to see a sketch if you have time! I see the point abut the space between sink and stove. Maybe I could put a small prep sink in the island like you suggested? I like that idea a lot. Maybe we could fit my main sink under the left window - do they make corner sinks? - and center my fridge between the windows. Or leave it to the left but put in cabs next to it, and then a stacked TO/MW? I am not sure that I have room to push that countertop further into the mudroom. As I planned it, the stacked W/D will be against the back wall, and I can't shove it directly again the mudroom sink as I need some cabinet space to store laundry detergent and cleaning supplies. That hampers me a little in the kitchen area. If I put my kitchen sink under the left window, could I put it right against the counter corner, or would that make it very uncomfortable to work at? Shannonplus2, I do understand that island cooking is not like on TV. But as it is, I cook on my island and look out to check on the kids frequently. The problem is that I have to step away from the stove to do this, since the kitchen right now is in that entry room! It's funny but most of the ideas you all have suggested, mirror my current kitchen layout which is a galley design as Lisa_a sketched above. This remodels coming about more because I need a mudroom and laundry room, plus all the kitchen cabs and appliances are dying or dead, and I don't really care for large rectangular islands, for some reason the L shaped ones work better for me (my mom has the big rectangle and it is too big a stretch across for a shorty like me, but so long that it's not as cozy to work together in the kitchen). So, I am trying to keep what I...

I love to re-read..so yes, usually I buy something I already know I love..or I had and then didn't have for years and then found it again..or if I have very high expectations, for example it's by an author I admire, but haven't read this book of his I do keep all fairy tales, children's books, poetry..and yes, short stories, classics..but I can re-read good detectives and thrillers too, so if that's the case..:) (I also love watching thrillers..not horror movies, these I can't watch, but thrillers..and some I can watch several times..it's a bit embarrassing, frankly. if it's too...if it's too good though, too true..then it's much scarier since no thriller is as scary as real life is..and then I probably won't watch it again, or if yes-after many years..because it hits me much harder, and it's not a thrill anymore..it's a totally different mix of feelings that you carry for years, and you don't really want ..to dilute it I guess. But then I guess a movie like that wouldn't be strictly called a thriller, right?.. Everything that's really good is hard to categorize..or so I think With very good books though, it's a bit different. Because you change yourself, as you age..and when you re-read you observe other things and think new thoughts and have new enlightenments The books I love can be very gloomy or very full of light...but I find that truly great books even if they are gloomy always carry some inner light too. A glimpse of hope. Never just one note.. If it's not the case(and I've read some exceptionally gloomy books..by Russian authors..not really horrors or thrillers just ..I don't know..really, just scary as hell)..I won't probably hold on to a book. I borrow them(usually somebody recommends it)/take in the library..return it. I don't know whether these authors were translated, and if yes, was the translation any good..and they obviously are very talented..but it haunts you for life, and you've no desire to re-read it, not at all.